Problems with parallel structure
Related sentence parts, such as items in a series, must be presented in parallel form. Correct the
nonparallel elements in the following sentences:
1.
She was healthy, wealthy, and a regular reader of my column.
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2.
He was handsome, brave, and the sort of person who would do anything for you.
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3.
The Budget Information System is a query system, the database is small, and we need to
recognize the fact that the response time is unacceptably long.
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4.
Declining trees have a higher probability of branch failures and of dying prematurely.
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5.
In the facility construction stage, trees are often wounded by trenching, blacktopping,
changing the grade, and heavy machinery.
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6.
Recreation users inflict many wounds by pounding nails into trees, lantern burns, and
damaging their roots with vehicles and heavy equipment.
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7.
Declaring sustainability as a goal is one thing; putting it into operation has been an
elusive goal.
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8.
The room was beautiful, the service impeccable, and I've never tasted better food in my
entire life.
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9.
You are not only responsible for organizing the conference, but we also want you to
introduce the keynote speaker.
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10.
To assess your effectiveness as a writer, consider whether your writing:

Conveys your message with clarity, emphasis, precision, and style.
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Uses variety in sentence structure for good stylistic effect.
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Provides organized, coherent, logical, insightful development of the subject.
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Supports your main points with specific, detailed, compelling examples and illustrations.

You commit no significant errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation.
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Underline the parallel structures in the following sentences.
11. Eating an animal has not always been an automatic or an everyday affair; it has tended
to be done on solemn occasions and for a special treat. —Margaret Visser
They [pioneer women] rolled out dough on the wagon seats, cooked with fires made out of
buffalo chips, tended the sick, and marked the graves of their children, their husbands and each
other. —Ellen Goodman
12. The mornings are the pleasantest times in the apartment, exhaustion having set in, the
sated mosquitoes at rest on ceiling and walls, sleeping it off, the room a swirl of
tortured bedclothes and abandoned garments, the vines in their full leafiness filtering
the hard light of day, the air conditioner silent at last, like the mosquitoes. —E. B. White
13. Aging paints every action gray, lies heavy on every movement, imprisons every thought.
—Sharon Curtin
Revise the following sentences to make coordinate, compared, or listed elements parallel in
structure. Add or delete words or rephrase as necessary.
Example:
After emptying her bag, searching the apartment, and she called the library, Jennifer realized
she had lost the book.
After emptying her bag, searching the apartment, and calling the library, Jennifer realized she
had lost the book.
14. The ancient Greeks celebrated four athletic contests: the Olympic Games at Olympia,
the lsthmian Games were held near Corinth, at Delphi the Pythian Games, and the
Nemean Games were sponsored by the people of Cleonae.
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15. Each day of the games consisted of either athletic events or holding ceremonies and
sacrifices to the gods.
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16. In the years between the games, competitors were taught wrestling, javelin throwing,
and how to box.
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17. Competitors participated in running sprints, spectacular chariot and horse races, and
running long distances while wearing full armor.
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18. The purpose of such events was developing physical strength, demonstrating skill and
endurance, and to sharpen the skills needed for war.
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19. Events were held for both men and for boys.
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20. At the Olympic Games the spectators cheered their favorites to victory, attended
sacrifices to the gods, and they feasted on the meat not burned in offerings.
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21. The athletes competed less to achieve great wealth than for gaining honor both for
themselves and their cities.
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22. Of course, exceptional athletes received financial support from patrons, poems and
statues by admiring artists, and they even got lavish living quarters from their
sponsoring cities.
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23. With the medal counts and flag ceremonies, today’s Olympians sometimes seem to be
proving their countries’ superiority more than to demonstrate individual talent.
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